Patrick Bordeleau revealed Monday he has been nursing a hand injury, which is why he has not fought since Dec. 5 against Luke Gazdic at Edmonton. The 6-foot-6 Bordeleau said he suffered ligament damage to his left hand in that fight with Gazdic, but his injury was kept a secret so Colorado's opponents would continue to fear him.

Many thought Bordeleau had lost his edge, or that Avs coach Patrick Roy told him not to fight.

"Now I can say it because it's gone, but I had an injury and couldn't fight for a long time," Bordeleau said. "Now I can, but no one wants to go lately. Patty (Roy) and the coaching staff are all about it — I have to do my job — but lately no one wants to go. Now I'm fine, and last game I tried (to fight against St. Louis) but nobody wanted to go."

Gazdic appeared to get the better of Bordeleau in that Dec. 5 fight. Bordeleau said he "lost grip" in his left hand — his stiff-arm hand that he usually latches to the opponent's sweater in a fight.

Bordeleau shoots left, meaning the top hand on his stick, his control hand, is his right. So he could stick-handle enough to continue to play his fourth-line role, which is all about checking and intimidation.

Stastny day to day. Avs center Paul Stastny was scratched Monday against the visiting Winnipeg Jets with a back injury. Roy said he hopes Stastny will return Wednesday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Stastny was injured in his first shift Saturday against the St. Louis Blues. He previously missed two games with a back injury this season.

Rookie Nathan MacKinnon was moved to Stastny's center spot from that line's right wing, and Jamie McGinn was brought up from the third line.

Berra en route. Backup goalie Reto Berra, whom the Avs acquired from Calgary in a trade last Wednesday, resolved his immigration issues and was en route to Denver on Monday night, an Avs spokesman said. Berra is scheduled to practice with his new teammates Tuesday, sharing the nets with starter Semyon Varla- mov and No. 2 Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

The Avs plan on carrying three goalies the rest of the season.

Footnotes. Avs forward Max Talbot said his newborn son is named Jaxson Talbot, with no official middle name. Talbot told his teammates that Jaxson's nickname is "Spartacus," and some interpreted that as a middle name. ... Winnipeg played without injured forwards Mark Scheifele, Matt Halischuk and Chris Thorburn.

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